At CES, Intel unveiled "Jarvis," a wireless headset
that listens to your surroundings to know the best time to pipe
in reminders, messages, and recommendations. Jarvis is not really
a new product, but a "reference design" to encourage others to
build similar headphones using Intel's tech.

But we see Jarvis as part of a
bigger trend. For instance, there's the earbuds that are part of
the new-and-improved Google Glass. The second generation of Glass
that Google's been giving to its "Explorers" include a set of
earbuds to improve audio notifications and to integrate Google
Play Music.

Google's second-generation Glass.Google

With predictive technology like
Google Now becoming more aware of things like your location, your
work calendar, and your travel plans, having updates piped into
your ear when no one else is talking seems like a logical next
step.

The biggest problem with smart earbuds seems to be
aesthetic appeal — or lack thereof. People have been
wearing wireless Bluetooth headsets for years, but there's a
stigma against their ostentatious-ness.

They're bulky, they look like something you wear at an office
desk, and everyone has been annoyed by that guy standing in line
at the grocery store, talking just a bit too loud into his
microphone to make sure he's heard.

With that said, it's not hard to envision a future where
the earbuds we wear all the time all work like
Jarvis: discretely letting you know about important
updates throughout the day, but only when it's a good time for
you.

People are already used to wearing their headphones to
listen to music, be alerted of new messages, to make phone
calls.Having the earbuds do more
for you, without requiring you to power up a smartphone or mess
with the display on a watch, makes a lot sense.

We'll have to
wait an see if any Intel partners steps up to design their own
version of Jarvis in cooperation with the company. We hope so, as
Jarvis is already an improvement over traditional Bluetooth
headsets.